Cinnamon on CBS

I'm spice obsessed and talked about cinnamon's super powers with CBS. 
Cinnamon can reduce your appetite and balance blood sugar levels. It's an immune booster. I was mainlining cinnamon with my family sick last week (I didn't get sick, just sayin). Cinnamon also has beneficial effects on your cholesterol levels. I always advocate food first. Try cinnamon in your coffee, smoothies, as a rub on poultry and meats or in Greek yogurt. My favorite brand is Ilā (pictured below). 

Aim for half a teaspoon per day. And be sure to choose Ceylon cinnamon over cassia cinnamon.  Sure, you can take cinnamon supplements but you'll be missing out on all the deliciousness. 
What's your favorite spice? Do you use cinnamon often (baking doesn't count)?

Five tips to avoid gaining weight on your summer vacation

Summer seafood is a great option, my son made these!

Recently, I did a segment for CBS on summer eating. Specifically, the topic was how to avoid weight gain on your summer vacation. I’ll spare you the scary stats on “beach bulk”. Around the same time, I read an article in Cooking Light on this same subject. Their advice was something to the effect of don’t worry about your weight too much, when you’re awa,y as that’ll make you binge. Let’s just say I suggest you think about weight a little and not to worry you’ll still have fun.

A little consciousness will lead to confidence.

What to do:

Delay your Play- away for a week? Don’t lobster roll day one, you’ll end up doing it daily.

Tis the season for overfruiting

Overfruiting is a thing…particularly in the summer. My mother asked me this past weekend, “Is pineapple fattening?” My response? Any fruit can cause you to gain weight if you eat too much. I usually say keep fruit to once per day. On vacation, stick to two fruits a day max.

Don’t let your activity fool you.

At the end of the day what you eat is 75% or more of what you weigh. You can bike and hike and still get heavier. By all means, swim, bike and hike while away, just don’t use these leisurely activities as a license to ice cream.

Ditch the Day Drinking

Sumer and, in particular, summer vacations can be boozy. Save the rose’ or tequila for after sundown…ok sundown is late in summer, 5pm?

Dinner Rule: 2 of 4, No More

 Bread

 Booze

 Dinner carbs

 Dessert

These are the four areas than can get you into trouble.

Pick 1 or 2 per meal away but not all 4

Keep these 5 tips in mind- share them with your family and friends and you’ll sail through summer vacations unscathed.

Eat these foods to keep eating in check Memorial Day weekend

Me/laptop and bulletin board (why crop)

 Thank goodness there’s a shift away from tiresome calorie counting. If you counted the calories in your breakfast, step away from My Fitness Pal. it’s not a real pal. Instead, think about the quality of your food. What your food to do for you (as always it’s all about you). Do you need more energy? Maybe some “GI” assistance, I discussed a reliable remedy for that in Tuesday. Or are you hungry all the time? Do you you overeat? Often want something more after a meal?  I hear you.

Last week, I sat down with CBS at the beautiful, new Madison Square location for Dig Inn. The topic? Foods that cut your cravings, at Foodtrainers we dubbed these foods Full Foods.

Here are five foods to keep you satisfied longer:

1. Yogurt- yogurt is a fermented or probiotic food. Greek yogurt or Siggi’s Skyr is also higher in protein. Fermented foods improve appetite signals to the brain (shortens that lag between eating and realizing you ate) and protein at breakfast results in eating less later in the day.
2. Raspberries- every food group has a hierarchy. For fullness, raspberries are on top. They are the highest fiber fruit, 8 grams per cup, and they’re also in season (if you’ve read Little Book of Thin you know that I warn about overfruiting so stick to that cup of raspberries). And I’m not lying when I say some (favorite) clients reported rereading LBT as a refresher. Swear. Try it while you eat your raspberries.
3. Avocado- full disclosure the avocado people are involved in these avo-studies I reference but I don’t care. Half an avocado at lunch reduces snacking later in the day and makes lunch worthwhile. So long snack monster. And potassium in avocados is a “delicious debloater”. Pack avocados in your overnight bag, snap a photo if you do. 
4. Eggs- eggs may be the numero uno Full Food even though I’m listing it forth for no reason. Eggs decrease ghrelin (horrible hunger hormone, I always envision Little Shop of Horrors “feed me Seymour feed me all night long”). Boil half a dozen eggs and use them on salads or as snacks.
5. Beans- I said during filming no bean jokes. If you’re worried about “beaniness” at the beach stick to mung beans- the gas free bean. After eating beany meals people reported they were 30% more satisfied than similarly composed bean free entrees. Not legume-inclined? Try these bean pastas I mention in the segment.

Have a great weekend. No need to be hangry (or gorging), got it?

What are your “Full Foods” that satisfy you most? Are these five a part of your diet? Do you calorie count?